Rasp
by Kate E. Hilliard
Summary: After surviving traumas beyond her imagination, Odessa follows her little brother on his search for the white rabbit in the waistcoat. An adventure of magnificent proportions ensues. Rating for Minor Cursing.
1. Chapter 1

First of all, this was bad. The vertical cut running down Odessa's throat was indeed quite bad. Arteries severed, windpipe punctured, untold damage to her vocal cords. In the words of the doctor, things looked pretty damn grim. It had been an accident, yes, her fiancée had accidentally broken the handle off a lemonade pitcher and accidentally cut her. Aforementioned fiancée spun a wild yarn to the doctors and police full of cockamamie claims that she had tripped and fallen on the knife.

_Thaddeus..._  
Odessa thought drearily as she drifted into a chemical slumber of painkillers and anesthetic.  
_You're going to die.  
_A smile played over her face as she idealized her revenge. She attempted to giggle, and promptly passed out.

The surgical nurse, upon seeing the sick grin on Odessa's face, shuddered.  
"That was just eerie." He said, the evidence of being thoroughly creeped out apparent in his voice.  
The surgeon glowered at him, and re-adjusted the mask over Odessa's mouth. After twelve hours and lots of questionable language, the doctors pronounced Odessa's throat "fixed to the best of their ability". In the recovery room she called out for help, but nearly screamed when her voice caused her pain. She'd had a beautiful voice, deep in the right ways for a woman and soft. Now she had a discernable rasp that would be sure to frighten small children. Her throat throbbed and ached when she swallowed. She rolled her head and saw a morphine drip to her left. The pain she considered so great was the dulled pain. Odessa would've cried, but the action made her throat tense up, so she opened her mouth and breathed. Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.  
Thaddeus came in the room, she doubted he knew she was awake.  
Inhale.  
He touched her face lovingly.  
Exhale.  
He kissed her cheek.  
She almost gagged. A fury was rising in her stomach, past all her guts and lungs. This man was wicked, a rake, a terror, a fiend. He would have to be dealt with.  
He stroked her hair.  
Inhale.  
She hit him, a hard smack across his face, then a punch, the first one she'd ever thrown. He stumbled back and hit the wall. Odessa lunged for him, her IV ripping out of her arm. She bit clawed and scratched at him. Her rasp hardly understandable, and some how very clear.

"_You think you can get away with this?!?" _She hissed at him.

"_You are SORELY mistaken!"_

She grabbed her glass IV bottle and bashed it over his head. The clear and gooey morphine was falling everywhere. A nurse rushed in to find Odessa straddling an unconscious Thaddeus, breathing deeply.

Inhale.

Exhale.

-

After several weeks in observation, Odessa returned home. Thaddeus was taken into custody after she wrote out what had transpired from police. Clean air cut her throat. Breathing had started to hurt again. She took a morphine pill and waited. Almost instantaneously the pain went away. She knew it couldn't work that fast, that was impossible. Doctors called it psychological association, her brain was creating fake pain, and the ritual of taking the pill signaled it to stop. Odessa sighed and stared out the window of her room. Her family was wealthy, her father an inventor of curious things to relieve hysteria in women and her mother…well..she never saw much of her mother as she was always testing out the things her father invented. Odessa felt alone in the big house, even with all the servants and her numerous adopted siblings, all of which were under the age of ten. Mother liked shopping and when she learned she would never bear another child, she went to various orphanages and went shopping for sons. Father wanted sons. Odessa was a minor inconvenience as she wouldn't be able to continue his work. She found this odd. A man designing a product for women sounded far more ridiculous than a woman designing a product for woman. She saw her brothers playing in the garden's of the manor. She longed for their whimsy, but knew she would never know it again. The cool rush of air swam around her as she began to fan herself. Mother called in the brothers, it was growing dark. Odessa quirked an eyebrow. One of the brothers hadn't returned.

"_How odd"_ She muttered to herself.

Soon enough he turned up, dirty and speaking of marvelous things like rabbits in waistcoats and beautiful ghost women. Odessa grinned. He was a lunatic, she would no longer be viewed as the scar of the family, she was finally going to-

"Odessa, could you be a dear and watch your brother, he seems to be a bit off today." Her mother said, waltzing into the room, younger brother in tow. She whirled around and releases him, exiting the room. She didn't make eye contact with her daughter or her son.

The door shut. Odessa's eyebrow remained quirked at the boy.

"_What's your name?"_ She asked of him.

At the mere sound of her voice the boy's eye popped wider that quarters and he flinched. Odessa crossed her arms over her chest.

"_Come now, I am not a specter or some frightening monster, I am a human being, a woman, your sister…Now tell me, what is your name?"_ She said in a stern tone.

The boy cast her a confused look then smiled.

"If you're my sister then shouldn't you know?"

Odessa's quirked eyebrow settled back into it's resting position.

Suddenly the boys smile faded and a look of disappointment came over him.

"My name is Curran….it's alright that you didn't know it…mother doesn't know it either." He said quietly.

He was a new boy. It always took mother a while to learn names.

"_Curran…how long have you been here?" _She questioned, making an attempt to soften her voice but only succeeded in hurting herself. The velvet ribbon fastened with a cameo she used to hide her scar, suddenly felt uncomfortable and restricting.

"Three days…" He answered solemnly.

"_How old are you?" _She inquired.

"Eight." He said, his tone lightening.

Odessa felt pity for the boy. He was small, smaller than most eight year olds, she'd thought he'd been four. She had been tall for her age, people thought she was twelve at age eight. She'd been offered marriage proposals by people who thought she was sixteen when she actually hit twelve. She tucked a stray black hair behind her ear and smiled at Curran.

She stood, earning a gasp from Curran.

"Corblimey, you are tall!" He cried out, his cockney tones shining through. He suddenly paled and put his hand over his mouth. Odessa let out her equivalent of a giggle.

"_You think I care about what you sound like?"_ She said, grinning.

Curran grinned back, then frowned.

"Mother says I talk like a looney when I don't pretend I'm a Lord."

She knelt down and sat cross legged in front of Curran and tilted his jaw upwards. She proceeded to tilt his face in all manner of directions, before tapping him on the nose.

"_You aren't a looney at all." _She said, her lips curled into a smirk.

Curran smiled again.

"Well that's a good thing, I know it, but should I still pretend I'm a lord? Mum seems a bit set on that." He asked.

"_Balderdash. We aren't nobles, we're the spawn of inventors We only live in what used to be a noble's home. Why should we pretend to be something we aren't?" _ She told him, scratching at the velvet ribbon.

"Amen to that!" Curran said offering his hand in the air.

Odessa stared at it curiously, unsure of what to do.

"Oh you, um, you tap it with your hand." Curran explained, then demonstrated by tapping his hands together.

"_Oh I see." _Odessa held up her hand, which Curran tapped with his own.

A silence fell between them.

"So why do they keep you in here?" Curran asked, observing her surroundings. Odessa observed for a moment as well. The room was dark, covered in black laces and deep velvets. The walls were an almost black mahogany.

"_I'm not really kept in here, I can leave the room they just get a little upset when I do…they don't like for me to be seen."_ She said coughing a bit. Her voice hadn't been exercised in a while, soon it would start to bleed.

"Why don't they like it?" He asked her, his curiosity growing more and more.

"_Well, its probably because of the incident, but I think it's because I'm a girl." _She told him plainly.

"The…incident?" Curran said in an inquisitive tone, fearing he was treading on private matters.

"_My fiancée cut my throat open…hence the…"_ She didn't vocally elaborate but she motioned to her neck.

"What a cad!" Curran exclaimed.

Odessa gave her wheezing giggle and held up her hand. Curran tapped it with his own.

She sighed and it grew quiet.

"_So…tell me about this rabbit in a waistcoat." _She said pleasantly, or as pleasantly as she could given her condition.

Curran scowled a bit.

"Mum said I'd get in trouble if I told people about it…" He said sadly.

Suddenly Odessa's eyebrow quirked again.

"_You think…he's still out there?" _She breathed out.

Curran met her gaze and spoke hopefully:

"I know where to find him…but won't we get in trouble? It's after dark…"

Odessa turned to face the window. The shades of light blue signaling that darkness would soon fall were painted over the sky.

"_Then we shall be quick."_ She told him, her tone growing excited.

Curran beamed.

"Aye!"

He grabbed her hand and began to lead her out of the room, her black skirts swishing about as they ran.

When they arrived outside it was humid, evidence of a hot summer's day. It had been a while since she'd been outside.

"Come along, I don't know how time works there." Curran said happily, dragging his sister along.

Odessa chortled a bit and followed him dutifully. They soon reached a tree with a very large hole in between its roots. For the first time since its beginning, Odessa began to question the idea of this little adventure.

"He went down there, told me to follow, that the White queen was expecting me, but Mum called for us to come in." Curran said, his mop of red curls bobbing as he spoke.

_You only live once and you've barely lived at all._ Odessa's mind whispered.

"_Shall you be going first, or shall I?" _ She asked.

Curran looked at the hole then cleared his throat and bowed.

"Ladies first…" He said looking up at her grinning.

Odessa looked at the hole then got on her hands and knees. She placed her feet into the hole.

"Oh I should warn you there's a bit of a drop." Curran said warningly.

Odessa nodded then pushed herself into the hole.


	2. Chapter 2

OBJECTS! Flying objects were whizzing by Odessa's head. She was tempted to scream, but a drop of blood made its way up into her mouth and she thought better of it. A pipe organ crashed into the wall beside her, making her spin around to view the small window of light that was the hole she'd jumped into. She felt her back break through something and she hit a floor. After taking a moment to compose herself, she realized it wasn't a floor at all. She fell from the ceiling to the floor. She could hear Curran giggling and he soon burst through the floor, and repeated what she'd just done. Curran seemed unaffected, he simply stood and looked at his very disheveled sister, who was still on the floor in shock.

"Well that was rather unpleasant." He said, straightening his tie. Odessa nodded.

"You alright?" He asked.

"_What?"_ Odessa said, blinking at him.

"Are. You. Alright?" He repeated.

"_Oh yes, quite just a bit shaken…um…how do we get out of here?"_ She said standing and looking around the room. Doors, lots of doors, surrounding them and a key on a glass table. Curran grabbed the key and started trying the doors. He came to a red curtain and swept it aside, to reveal a small door, fit for a doll. Odessa's gaze fell back on the table, a glass bottle appeared containing a clear liquid labeled _Drink Me_. She looked back to Curran to see that the small door was open and he was peeking through it. Odessa uncorked the bottle and took a swig from it. She coughed immediately, it stung her tender pipes. Suddenly the room began to grow-no the room wasn't growing, Odessa was shrinking. This time she did cry out.

"_Curran!"_ She yelled.

The small boy turned around and saw his sister one sixth her size.

"My Lord! Whatever did you do?" He asked.

"_Drank…from bottle!" _She cried, her tone growing hoarser than normal.

Curran saw the bottle and grabbed it. He took a drink, and too shrank.

"Now we can fit through the door!" He announced proudly.

Odessa sighed and covered her eyes, the Victorian equivalent of a face palm.

"_You're right…Let us go._" She took his hand and lead him through the door.

"Oh…my…" Curran began.

"_God."_ Odessa finished.

A world of color and phenomenal sights stood before them. Plants of varying shape and size danced with the breeze. As they stared slack jawed at their surroundings, a large white rabbit came bounding up the stone path.

"I say!" The rabbit called.

"Who are you?" He said upon reaching them.

Curran knelt down to eyelevel with the rabbit.

"I'm Curran, this is my sister Odessa. You told me to follow you, so I did." He said cheerily.

The rabbit sighed.

"Yes , I told _you_ to follow me, _not_ your sister." He said, obviously frustrated.

"_It's not like I can hear you or anything."_ Odessa muttered.

The Rabbit's eye widened when she spoke. Seeing this, Curran interjected.

"Yeah, she got her throat cut by a bad man, but don't worry she's alright in my book." He said, folding his arms over his chest proudly.

Odessa covered her eyes again and rasped out a sigh. She didn't like being known for an incident.

"Mhmmm." The rabbit murmured.

"Well I suppose it's all right…" He said, unsure of himself.

Curran beamed. "Spectacular!...Now why did you ask me to follow you?"

The rabbit was about to answer but a howl in the distance interrupted him.

"Quickly now, follow the path! All will be explained in due time!" With those final words he disappeared into the brush. The siblings stared after him for a great while.

"…_Well you heard him."_ Odessa grabbed Curran's hand and led him down the path. It wound and twisted like nothing they'd ever traipsed before. A fork presented itself.

"Which way do we go?" Curran asked, yawning.

"_I don't know."_ Odessa stated firmly.

A great crashing and commotion was heard to their left.

"That sounds like a safe bet." Curran said, yawning again and slowly making his way down the path.

Odessa bit her lip and considered protesting, then decided that his bet was as good as hers and pressed forward. After a good bit of walking, they came upon a peculiar scene. There was a rabbit, a bit larger than their previous acquaintance and a light brown color, a white mouse in a dress, and a man…well…Odessa _thought _it was a man. It was humanoid in appearance, had a wild batch of hair a brighter orange than Curran's the top half of which was hidden under a large hat, skin as pale as the statues she'd seen in France the summer before her accident, and the strangest looking eyes that either of the siblings had ever encountered on man or beast. The bonafide animals were arguing, the rabbit was throwing things about speaking in incoherent English, the mouse was yelling something about cakes. The humanoid was observing them with a look of wonder. Then they all noticed Odessa and Curran. The sudden silence made the two nervous, and Curran took to hiding behind Odessa's skirt. Odessa cleared her throat and pitched her voice high in tone, as an attempt to mask her vocal deformity.

"_Hel-lo" _ She said, her voice cracking to it's frightening normalcy halfway through the word. Odessa clamped her hand over her mouth in shock, and cursed inside her mind. The humanoid stared at them curiously then hopped onto the table and strode over to them.

"Hello young sir…" He said kissing Odessa's hand "…and madame" he said upon seeing Curran, tiliting his hat to the lad. "What brings you two to our party on this glorious day?" He grinned avidly at the two of them. Odessa's heart pounded in her chest and she looked at Curran pleadingly, afraid to speak again. Strangers made her very self-conscious. Curran gave her a confused look, then relized what she was driving at and stepped out from behind her.

"Oh, um, we are not from around here, the bunny rabbit told us to follow the path, but didn't tell us which way to go when it split…" He stated in a wracked tone.

The humanoid remained quiet.

"Ye sai ye ahren't from 'round here…" The humanoid said stonily, to Odessa's shock his eyes began to grow a darker shade of green. "…So where ahre ye from?" He finished. His question hung in the air for a moment like an ornament dangling dangerously off the edge of a Christmas tree branch. Curran audibly gulped.

"Up…there?" He almost whispered, pointing at the sky.

The humanoid looked up and then straight at Odessa.

_Oh no…no no no no don't call on me…_She thought hastily.

"What about ye sir? Ye haven't said a word since ye said hello." He took a step closer to her. She began to get frightened. "Where ahre ye from?" He repeated.

"S-She doesn't speak!" Curran suddenly blurted. "Terrible thing really, her fiancée-"

"I have no patience for finances." The humanoid said, holding his gaze on her. "…and besides, she said hello."

It was Odessa's turn to gulp.

"_We are from somewhere, I don't know what you call it here, but we came through a hole in a tree to get here." _She rasped out.

Then the humanoid smiled.

"Just like Alice." He said gaily, his voice back to it's original friendly resonance and his eyes back to their bright green. Odessa was dumbfounded. They hadn't shied away at the sound of her voice. They hadn't grimaced or seemed in the slightest bit pained to hear her speak. She almost smiled. 

"Well then, now that that's settled, to whom are my inquiries directed at?" He asked beaming at them.

"I am Curran Stanson, adopted by the…the…" Curran's sentence faded off and he looked up at Odessa and whispered: "What are mother and father's names?"

Odessa did smile this time and replied: "May and Jarppo Sears."

Curran smiled and returned his gaze to the humanoid. "May and Jarppo Sears…" he suddenly scowled.

"Jarppo?" He asked Odessa.

"Finnish name..I think it means James or something of the like." She told him.

"Oh!..." He looked back to the humanoid.

"Aye, May and Jarppo Sears." He said proudly.

"Hm." The humanoid said quaintly. "And you are?" He inquired to Odessa. She curtsied and smiled up at him.  
"_I am Odessa Sears, daughter of Jarppo and May Sears."_ She replied as sweetly as her voice would allow.

"Wonderful to meet you both!" The humanoid cried out loudly.

"I am Tarrant Hightopp, or Mad Hatter if you like, royal hatter to her majesty Mirana of Marmoreal and her Champion Alice Kingsleigh ." He said bowing deeply.

"_Pleasure to make your acquaintance"_ Odessa said, holding out her hand for him to shake, and he did shake it.

"You, sir, seem like a right good fellow." Curran said cheerily, also shaking the Hatter's hand.

The Hatter looked mildly confused at Curran's statement then smiled. "Why thank you, milady." He said.

"Now, that !" He said turning to his company and pointing at the brown rabbit.

"..is the March Hare." He said seriously. "And that lovely petite thing is….is…pardon me for a moment." The Hatter rushed over to the mouse.  
"Um, excuse me my friend but I seem to have forgotten how to pronounce your name. I know it starts with M, I remember that because I quite like M. Middle of the alphabet you know? Makes a lovely sound M-M-M-"

"Hatter!" The mouse shouted.

"It's pronounced Mallymkun." She said giggling. The Hatter snapped his fingers.

"That's the one! Mallymkun!" He said grinning at his guest again.

"And, now for the most important question of all!" He said merrily, walking back over to Odessa and Curran.

"Would you two like to join us for tea?"


End file.
